Whole Grains
        

Why whole grains?

          Whole grains are power-packed with fiber, vitamins, minerals, antioxidants and phyto-chemicals - plant compounds that help reduce the risk of many chronic diseases and ailments.
        Secondly, consuming a diet rich in whole grains has been associated with reducing one's risk of metabolic syndrome, type 2 diabetes and heart disease.
         Metabolic syndrome is a condition marked by a combination of abdominal obesity, high blood pressure, poor blood circulation, low HDL "good" cholesterol and high blood fats, all of which lead to a higher risk for type 2 diabetes and heart disease.

Refined Foods & Disease

      There are two reasons.  First is that the fiber is lost and so un-available for toxins to be excreted from the body.  Secondly, through refining, nutrients are lost , which we will discuss in the next few pages.

Whole Foods Detoxify

   As we have already discussed the importance of the liver as a detoxifying organ, we will now briefly mention that the  liver manages to throw the fat soluble toxins out of the body through the secretion of bile. The bile with the combined action of the fiber present in your diet throws the fat-soluble toxins out of the body through the feces (stools). This is where  fiber plays an important role.

      The detoxified non-water soluble (fat soluble) toxins through bile reach the intestines. Here bile is re-absorbed but the toxins are not reabsorbed if fiber is present in the food. If fiber is not present then the toxins are reabsorbed and go back into the body. Hence, eating fiber helps in detoxification.

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